Corresponding Destinies
by kitty.has.a.pen
Summary: Tifa was an orphan at thirteen, her parents caught in the crossfire between an Anti-Shinra group and SOLDIERs. With nothing left, she joins her best friend in his dream to become a SOLDIER. Problem: females aren't allowed Answer: become a guy! SephTifa
1. Chapter 1

Just a few notes…

In this story:

Tifa is fourteen. Therefore the whole Sephiroth killing her father and destroying her village hasn't happened yet.

Women cannot be SOLDIERS hence her being undercover.

She still knows Cloud but they have no romantic inclinations and treat each other only in a brother and sister like way at most.

XXXXXXXXXX

Tifa Lockhart couldn't believe she was here. She couldn't believe she was training to be a SOLDIER. And most of all, she couldn't believe that not a single one of the people around her had realized that she was a GIRL. That is, other than her best friend Cloud.

'Why was she there in the first place?' you may ask.

It was simple really. Her parents died in an unfortunate accident, leaving her an orphan with no relatives to speak of. Cloud was her only remaining tie to what could resemble a family, and thus, she joined the SOLDIERs with him. He was her best friend, her rock, the only reason she kept on living this long. That was why she did all she could do to get here.

Tifa resisted the urge to smile at Cloud's exasperated look as she sat down beside him for breakfast which was served at seven o'clock sharp as always. There was no one up yet except her and Cloud.

"You know, we've been together here for about a year now and you still look surprised when you see me _every_ single morning." The dark haired girl remarked, shaking her head in amusement. "I'm not leaving any time soon, Cloud."

That was true. She wasn't leaving just because he wanted her to. She practically had to walk on crushed glass to just get here and there was that fifty percent chance of getting found out hanging above her head every single day.

"It doesn't hurt to hope now, does it?" he dryly replied, shoveling food into his mouth in a tired fashion.

Tifa shrugged, "Suit yourself."

"Here are my two favorite 3rd class SOLDIERS!" a bright voice boomed from behind them.

The best friends sighed, one thought crossing their mind in almost perfect synchronization: _"Zack..."_

Zack was a 1st class SOLDIER who was really fond of them for some reason. She sincerely wished he'd back off. It wasn't that Zack wasn't nice, he was the opposite, he was super nice, he was the type of guy you'd want for a friend. It was just…

Tifa sighed. She supposed getting caught by Zack would be relatively better than the other three…

"_The three top 1__st__ class SOLDIERs…" _her mind wandered, not noticing the concerned looks of the two guys sitting beside her.

Angeal Hewley, Zack's mentor, well known for his sense of responsibility and honor…

The 3rd class SOLDIER winced. She would get a decent flaying from him if he ever figured out. He'd berate her for dressing up as a male and infiltrating Shinra's SOLDIER Department, probably kick her out in the process.

But then, that still wasn't as bad as getting found out by those two…

Genesis Rhapsodos and Sephiroth, the most feared SOLDIERs _ever_.

She would get thrashed by those two, she was sure. Dragged over hot coals… trap her in a freezing block of ice… drown her maybe..?

She tried to repress a shiver and failed.

"Is something wrong, Lockhart?"

Two pairs of _really close _mako infused blue eyes stared at her.

She almost screamed, in a girly fashion, but thankfully, she stopped herself at the last second.

"Ti— Storm?" he asked, rolling his eyes internally at her hand picked name.

Yes, she was known as Storm Lockhart now. The name 'Storm' was supposed to be her name if she was born a male, or so her mother told her.

Tifa nodded, not really trusting herself to speak.

"Hey, have you heard?" Zack grinned, sitting beside her at the same time throwing his arm around her shoulders, a fact that didn't surprise her or her best friend anymore, unlike the first time he did it.

The look on their faces...

Tifa half-smiled at the amusement the experience brought to her now.

"Heard what?" the blonde teen asked, sapphire eyes narrowing slightly, an obvious sign of curiosity.

"Seph and Genesis are taking protégées." Zack whispered in a low voice, as if it was a big secret.

Cloud's eyes snapped to her face at once, obviously stating that she had to do her best to _not _get picked.

Tifa rolled her eyes at him, as if she were that stupid. "How are they going to pick?" she asked the older teen, her voice pitching a bit deeper than her usual tone.

Zack shrugged, "No idea. They're keeping it a secret."

The vermillion eyed teen sighed, running a hand through her short locks. Yes, she cut her hair. She couldn't go in here with long hair without looking female, unlike a certain someone…

"…this is a good opportunity for you guys! You'll practically be a shoe-in!" the 1st class SOLDIER cheered, his bright countenance giving off encouraging vibes.

Tifa blinked, missing the first part of his sentence. "What about you and Angeal? Aren't you taking students?"

Zack shook his head, crossing his arms as well. "I'm not ready for that yet. Actually, I don't think I can ever do that. Taking in a specific student and training him? The responsibility is kind of daunting." He laughed, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "Angeal says he's taking a break from teaching for a while."

The undercover teen nodded slowly, completely forgetting the food in front of her.

"Storm, aren't you gonna eat?" the 1st class SOLDIER asked, eyes glowing in concern.

Shaken out of her thoughts, she nodded slowly, taking her spoon and dipping it into the soup.

It would be fine. She got this far. This thing won't change her life. So what if they took on students? There was a one in a million chance she'd get picked.

She started eating, ignoring the tingling of dread that seemed to grow in her stomach.

XXXXXXXXXX

Sephiroth stared at the files on his desk.

A compilation of the best 3rd class SOLDIERs.

From here, he was to pick his student, his new responsibility.

Freezing green eyes critically assessed the pile. This was pointless, certainly. Why would 1st class SOLDIERs take in personal students?

"_**We need more 1**__**st**__** class SOLDIERs. We cannot keep handing the four of you all the difficult missions. Therefore, you and Genesis will choose your prospective students that you believe have the potential to become 1**__**st**__** class." Lazard told them pointedly, his tone brooking no arguments.**_

The general pursed his lips together into a thin line, an irritated expression on his face.

"You haven't chosen yet." The familiar deep baritone of his friend sounded from the door.

Sephiroth glanced at him, "No."

"I see."

"Have you chosen?" he asked the man dressed in scarlet, his tone quiet.

He gave a shake of his head."No, but I think I have someone for you." He smirked, raising a hand which held a small caramel colored folder.

Curiosity pricked at the silver haired general, "Who?"

A file skidded over onto the middle of his mahogany desk. "Him."

Sephiroth's eyes moved downward, a picture the first thing he saw.

It was a young man, barely an adult, stared up at him, smiling happily.

Short raven locks, mako infused vermillion eyes, heart shaped face. He frowned slightly. The boy looked almost feminine.

The name was written on the bottom: Storm Lockhart.

Interest piqued, he opened the folder, oblivious to the almost sly expression on his friend's face.

XXXXXXXXXX

Tifa shivered, her eyes drawn to the angry gray clouds forming in the sky outside her window. She gingerly wrapped her arms around herself, heart pounding in an abnormal rate. A storm was coming.

XXXXXXXXXX

OOH! Did you guys enjoy that? Hahaha, well, please review. Oh yeah, if anyone can offer to be my beta-reader that'd be great!


	2. Chapter 2

Here you go then! Chapter 2! Enjoy!

BTW, thanks to all those who reviewed! I appreciate it.

XXXXXXXXXX

Storm sat on 'his' bed as he waited for Cloud to get ready. Today's lesson was going to be held in the training room, the place where cadets usually get their butts kicked by holograms. She sighed, flopping onto her back. This was the annoying part of her stay here. She couldn't release her full potential for fear that she might get noticed by superiors.

Mako infused vermillion eyes shut as she let her thoughts take a hold of her. What she wouldn't give to thoroughly beat the crap out of those programs'—

"Ready?" her roommate asked her, eyeing her curiously.

"I hate not being able to do my best." She suddenly muttered, turning on her side to fully face him.

"Then why do you hold yourself back during practice? We- well, I- know that you can easily become one of the best here." He remarked, sitting in one of the chairs while drying his spiky blonde hair.

"We've gone over this before," she reminded him dryly, "If I become one of the best, I'll easily get noticed, and that would be a problem because I'm a _girl_. Besides, all my hard work will pay off now."

"Pay off how exactly?"

"Well, the 1sts are choosing the student they'll take on right? They would be picking from the best of the best, which doesn't include me. And that my friend is how my hard work pays off."

"I doubt acting like your average at everything is hard work…" he muttered under his breath, narrowly avoiding a flying pillow headed for his direction.

"Whatever, Cloud." She rolled her eyes. "Anyway, the point is, I'll have a snowball's chance in hell to ever get picked."

Cloud merely gave her a short look. "That's still a chance."

Tifa laughed, "Don't be a worry wart. Even if there is a chance, I doubt the great and might Sephiroth and Genesis would pick me."

XXXXXXXXXX

Genesis strolled along the hallway, heading towards the training room where he knew the 3rd class SOLDIERs were having their class. Three folders were held in his left hand, the candidates for his charge.

He ran his right hand through his hair, the red brown locks refusing to stay out of his eyes for some reason.

"_Storm Lockhart…"_

A smirk began to pull at his lips. He had to admit, he really was intrigued by that boy. It was pure luck that he came by the teen's folder in the first place. One of the instructors had left it in the training room and out of curiosity, he had opened it.

His eyes were red, bright, vivid scarlet.

His credentials caught his attention as well.

Everything was average.

His written exams, practical exams, his fighting abilities, materia using abilities…

It was too average, like he was doing his complete best to _not _be noticed.

And he was sure Sephiroth would realize that as well.

It was impossible for a SOLDIER, even a 3rd class one, to not have a single matter that he did not excel in, and yet this boy had none.

He was trying too hard, and that was what would be his downfall.

And then, there was that idea that kept bothering him at the back of his mind…

Why would a SOLDIER do that?

Everyone here did their best. Everyone wanted to be on top.

But that boy didn't, and he had one theory why.

His boot clad feet stopped in front of the door, his hands automatically going up to type in the codes to open the door.

Lockhart was hiding something.

Genesis' mako filled blue eyes brightened at the prospect of a challenge, a mystery.

And he, being Genesis, never backed down from a challenge.

Yes, he would figure out that boy's secret.

A plan had already formed in his head, and Sephiroth would be playing a large role in it, that is, if he would choose Lockhart.

Genesis couldn't pick him, no matter how much he was tempted to.

Fact was that they were supposed to pick from the 3rd class SOLDIERs Lazard had picked out for them.

Storm was not on that list.

Sephiroth had the power to choose whoever he wanted, Lazard wouldn't bat an eyelash.

Genesis didn't know why he was so bent on this. But there was a pull towards the mystery Storm had. A pull he couldn't and didn't want to turn away from. He had a feeling, something that felt strongly like intuition that told him to do this.

One thing was for sure… life was going to be a hell of a lot more interesting.

XXXXXXXXXX

Zack approached Cloud and Tifa with a suspiciously bright smile as if hiding something. "Hey guys!" he greeted gleefully.

Storm felt wary, even more so than usual, "Zack." she nodded shortly before turning his attention to the sword in her hand. Really, she would have preferred to use her hands but I doubt they would make much damage on machine type enemies, not to mention it would hurt like hell.

Cloud nodded to him as well, exchanging pleasantries and what not.

Tifa took this time to examine her surroundings. Everyone was quiet, too quiet. There was a certain buzz in the atmosphere as well. Her comrades seemed like they were… nervous?

The dark haired teen looked on, completely baffled. Why would they be nervous? They've done this a hundred times. It's nothing different from usual.

"…Sephiroth and Genesis are coming to watch your class' training session today." Zack informed them, grinning. "Do your best guys! Who knows they might take notice—"

Dread. Sharp and cold filled her. Sephiroth and Genesis were coming here? As in today?!

Nerve wracking anxiety and fear, she thought it had disappeared over the year she spent here, but unfortunately for her it hadn't. Even with Zack hanging around her, she had never come into close contact with the other 1st class SOLDIERs and she didn't want to.

"_Calm, deep breaths…"_ she mentally instructed herself, willing her heart to stop trying to pound itself out of her chest. She had gone through a year with a lot of close calls, this wasn't any different…

A frustrated groan filled the air, one, she realized, came from her.

Who was she kidding? Those 'close calls' had only involved other SOLDIERs, not _them_!

It was times like these she missed being in Nibelheim, at least there she didn't have to worry about anything—

Vermillion eyes shut tightly, and she berated herself for thinking that now of all times.

What did she have outside of this place?

_Nothing. _

Absolutely nothing.

Cloud was all she had left…

A warm hand placed itself on her shoulder as she fought down a shuddering breath.

"Storm?" the comforting voice of her best friend floated to her ears.

That was right. She was Storm right now. Not Tifa.

"I'm alright," she found herself saying as she smiled at them, "Just nervous."

"Don't worry, Storm!" the spiky haired 1st class SOLDIER comforted her, slinging an arm around her shoulder. "You'll do great!"

Tifa winced. No, she wasn't going to do great at all. Her nerves were shot. She doubted she could even life the sword on her back with the anxiety she was feeling.

"R-right." She nodded, smiling albeit forcedly.

Cloud was still watching her with concern and she found herself relaxing enough to shoot him a reassuring smile. Today was group practice, that meant more cover for her…

She could get through this.

She had to.

The room fell silent, as still as the grave as foot steps sounded from the entrance.

"_Shiva, please give me the strength to get through this day." _She prayed, eyes closing tightly for a moment.

"Good morning class." The instructor greeted from the door, behind him, two imposing figures.

Tifa felt her heart drop to her stomach, all thoughts of hope failing her.

How could she ever think to fool those two? They'd probably figure her out with just one look.

"These gentlemen behind me will be watching your training for today." He told them, indicating Sephiroth and Genesis. "Get in line, today's practice will be individual."

"_Oh Shiva…" _she cried in her head, fear ten times more pronounced.

Her heart was pounding. It was all she could hear, all she could focus on.

"First off…"

"_It's in alphabetical order. I still have time to think of a plan…"_

"Storm Lockhart." The instructor called out, looking up from the list in his arms.

Panic shot through her system in sharp bursts. Cold sweat formed on her brow and her body seemed unable to move.

"_This can't be happening!"_

XXXXXXXXXX

OOH! Cliffy! Hahaha, please review! Hope you enjoyed!


	3. Chapter 3

Here you go guys! Chapter 3! Thanks to all those who reviewed!

XXXXXXXXXX

Why was she the first one up? Why? WHY?!

A sharp nudge to her ribs shocked her out of her stupor and she found herself glaring at Cloud who was pointing towards the door towards the training area.

"_Alright, I have about a minute before they call me out on being a girl. Any last words?" _she felt slightly hysterical- no- she was hysterical, deep inside.

She walked like she was walking to her death which it probably would be unless she thought of something.

Cloud...

_Cloud_…

She couldn't get caught now.

She entered the fighting area, the doors closing behind her. The sound made it so final. With a shaky hand, she pulled out her sword, trying hard to keep her shivers to a minimum. She could do this.

They would call her out if she didn't defeat the monster, and they would call her out if she defeated it too quickly. In short, she was walking a _very _thin line.

She needed to beat the monster, but then, she needed to make it look not like she was having a very hard time or an easy one.

She shut her eyes briefly. _"This better work…"_

"Ready?" the voice of their instructor blared through the speakers.

She nodded her head, not trusting her voice to speak.

"Begin session." The mechanical voice of her computer began, her surroundings immediately changing.

In seconds, she was surrounded by trees near a gushing waterfall, the walls of the training room disappearing as well as the windows where she could have seen her fellow SOLDIERs.

She glanced around, her breath caught by the beauty of the program. It was the first time her surroundings changed during a session. Normally random monsters would just start appearing.

The teen stepped closer to the waterfall, watching. The water was clear and seemed to sparkle as the sunlight hit it. Trees towered above her head and shadowed her with its majestic leaves. Flowers were scattered about around it, random kinds, lilies, roses—

Tifa shook her head. This was _not _the time to admire the scenery!

"_Where's the enemy?" _she asked herself, looking about, careful not to make any noise.

XXXXXXXXXX

"What are you doing?!" the teacher nearly screamed in outrage, his mahogany eyes bulging out of his head as Genesis turned a dial. "He's an average student! He can't handle that sort of level!"

The computer screen blinked, large red words appearing on the screen.

**LEVEL 25 Training Program: ENGAGED.**

Cloud was as furious as the old man, but couldn't hold it long enough for the worry that ate at him. Barely watching where he was going, he ran towards the crowd forming at the windows that saw into the training area.

The other students felt fear, not for themselves but for their comrade. For all they knew he could barely handle a LEVEL 15 training program!

Zack patted Cloud on the back, as if for comfort. His usual cheeriness was gone, and he was almost glaring at Genesis. "If something goes wrong I'll go in there and save him, alright?"

The blonde couldn't speak, his hands clenching and unclenching at his sides.

Sephiroth was in the adjoining room, one reserved for the teachers that were to watch training exercises.

He was curious as to what Genesis was planning, and he was also wondering how this SOLDIER would cope.

Luminescent cat like eyes stared at the boy as if he were a source of amusement.

"_What will you do now, Lockhart?"_

XXXXXXXXXX

Tifa was still waiting for her enemy to show up.

She was getting antsy. Her nerves were on edge and she felt like someone was watching her.

The vermillion eyed teen almost snorted. Of course she felt like someone was watching her! There _was _someone watching her. Like her classmates, teacher and those two 1st class SOLDIERs…

She gulped, walking towards what would resemble a cave.

Against her will, she remembered one of her mother's sayings.

"_**Tifa, don't go into dark and cramped spaces alright?" her mother smiled at her, "You never know what might be inside."**_

It was funny how she was doing the exact opposite of that.

She straightened herself, no going back now. She needed to face this monster, wherever it is and kick its ass… or get hers kicked.

She poised her weapon in front of her, warily watching her surroundings, noticing now that it was completely silent.

Heavy foot steps echoed from the cave.

Storm's grip on her sword tightened, it was heading in her direction apparently.

"_You can do this Tifa. It's not like it's a high level monster. It's the normal exercise with just different surroundings."_

The echo seemed stronger now. It was getting nearer.

At the last minute, she checked her materia and items in case she got into a rough fight.

Steam seemed to blow out of the cave, hitting her with its putrid smell.

Storm resisted to cover her nose, _"What the hell is that smell?!"_

Her question was answered soon enough as she found herself face to face with the ugliest creature she had ever seen.

"_Oh Shiva…"_

The monster stared at her with dark eyes, eyes that she noticed was full of blood lust.

Her grip on her sword turned painful.

This wasn't like any other monsters she'd come across during training! How the hell was she supposed to beat—

Her thoughts got cut off as the monster moved directly into the sunlight.

"_Holy… It has four arms!"_

How was she supposed to beat a monster three times her size, had huge sharp teeth and _four _arms with claws?!

Every cloud has a silver lining, but as of now, she was having a little trouble finding it.

She held still, waiting for it to make the first move as she was taught by her earlier mentor.

The monster watched, circling her.

Complete silence.

She held her breath and poised her sword in front of her.

All she could do now was try to survive this.

The monster gave a loud roar and charged, four arms stretched at its sides.

Seconds seemed to stretch before it finally reached her.

Large fur covered appendages with sharp claws swiped at her, as she raised her blade to block its attacks. Her arms moved on its own, relying only on sheer adrenaline and instinct as she blocked blow by blow and rolled away when it decided to grab her. She focused on the battle, forgetting the earlier plans she had thought of.

Survival. That's all that mattered now.

She could do this. All she needed was to find its weak point. Her arms felt weak from the powerful blows but the drive to win held her fast.

Tifa bit her lip and raised her blade again to block. She needed to find an opening and soon.

The opening came and Tifa eagerly grabbed at it.

She blocked three hits and thrust her sword to what she knew to be the monster's heart,

Sharp screaming pain shot through her as she realized one of its claws had bitten into her side.

A second was all it took.

Tifa's eyes widened in shock.

Her sword went flying out of her hands and she fell flat onto her back, one hand gripping her blood drenched side. The pain intensified, attacking her from all sides and it only sharpened when she realized what had happened.

She had been disarmed.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Stop the program! She's been disarmed!!" Cloud found himself shouting just at the same moment that Zack began threatening the teacher to open the doors so that he could get in. The relief he had felt when Tifa had been doing well gone as he watched bright red drip from her side.

Genesis found himself disappointed at the turn of events. He had been expecting a bit more from the boy.

Sephiroth had felt along the same way judging from the frown on his face. With a sigh he turned away from the window, opening his mouth to tell the instructor to close the program.

"He's getting up!" one of the SOLDIERs yelled in shock.

The commotion immediately stopped as their attention caught onto the scene.

Sephiroth felt himself turn back towards the window, his eyes zeroing in on the small figure of the SOLDIER with his side bleeding.

Sharp glowing eyes watched the boy's face, watching in surprise as the pain seemed to be disappearing from his features to reveal raw determination.

The silver haired general felt his heart stop as he saw the teen's eyes.

His eyes were like melted ruby, bright and almost…

Scorching…

It burned and he was drawn to it. That raw fire…

"Sephiroth!" Zack called to the man, "We have to stop the program!"

He couldn't take his eyes away.

"SEPHIROTH!" the younger man yelled again.

Genesis raised his hand, stopping Zack in his way over to the silver haired man. "Wait."

XXXXXXXXXX

Tifa felt power surge through her, more than the adrenaline rush before, more than anything she had ever felt before. It felt like fire was coursing through her veins, empowering her, urging her on.

Her hands balled into fists, and before she knew what she was doing she went into a stance.

This felt right- no- it _is _right.

All other thoughts disappeared from her mind as she watched the monster once again go in for an attack.

XXXXXXXXXX

"THIS IS CRAZY! HE CAN'T BEAT THAT THING WITH HIS BARE FISTS!" Zack shouted angrily at the other 1st class SOLDIERs.

Cloud didn't speak which baffled Zack.

"Cloud! You can't—"

But he was. The Tifa he knew could beat this thing. She had held herself back for far too long. This was long over due.

She _can _beat that thing.

The sheer intensity of his belief seemed to show as Zack fell silent as well.

XXXXXXXXXX

Tifa surged forward, cleanly avoiding any and all attacks it would throw at her. Timing, that was all that mattered here. If she could get one of her punches in it would be game over.

Cuts marred her arms and face as she continued the heated battle. She came at it in a flurry of kicks and punches that seemed to be ingrained in her system. The monster was weakening by the moment and Tifa felt the feeling of victory dangling near her reach.

The animal seemed to realize this to as it moved away from her, waiting for an opening much like she had done earlier.

But she wasn't going to let her guard down this time.

It roared, swinging its arms angrily, claws glinting under the sun's rays.

And then it attacked.

Tifa closed her eyes and centered herself. She could do this.

The monster raised its claw and everything slowed.

Tifa's arm shot out and grabbed the incoming appendage swiftly turning around and pulling its arm. Her knees bent at the weight as she pulled the arm as she bent forward using the gravity as added help as she hurled the monster into a near by tree with all her remaining strength.

A sickening crack sounded as the animal fell onto the forest floor.

The mind-boggling fact that she had won finally hit her as she stared in complete bafflement at the unmoving monster.

"_I won?" _she found herself thinking, her strength slowly leaving her.

The scenery disappeared and she heard the sound of a door opening.

"STORM!!" Cloud yelled, stopping short five feet from his best friend who stood at the center of the huge room.

Tifa slowly turned around to look at the cheery and awed faces of Cloud and her fellow SOLDIERs.

"Piece of cake…" she found herself grinning albeit weakly, raising her hand into a thumbs up sign before promptly fainting.

"Storm!!"

XXXXXXXXXX

The battle part sucked didn't it? Hahaha! Sorry, it's my first time making one. Hehehe, well, hopefully it'll get better as I go along. Please review!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Hi guys! Sorry about the slight inconsistencies these past few chapters, here's a few things to clear things up:

As to whether Tifa has been infused with Mako energy or not... well, I won't answer that right now.

Cloud shouting: "She's been disarmed!" is intentional. Hahaha! Besides, I have no idea what else to put there.

And, as we all know, Tifa is curvy. She's not really wearing really tight breast binds. She uses a vest of sorts and to add to that her clothing is sort of baggy so people don't really notice.

Anyway! Thanks to all those who reviewed!

XXXXXXXXXX

Darkness…

Tifa didn't particularly love it, but she didn't hate it either. She guessed it depended on the situation.

"_Where am I?" _now there's a good question.

Voices seemed to echo around her, she couldn't make anything out. It was all a jumble of words and voices. She tried to focus her mind on understanding the random conversations near her.

"Can you believe he actually beat that thing?" a voice said in utter amazement.

Aha! Success!

"Who would've thought shorty could do that?"

She resented that nickname. She was not short. If you looked at it from a girl's perspective she was above average with her height of 5"5. Unfortunately, seeing as that she was in a male only area, she was mostly shorter than them.

"Do you think he'll wake up soon?"

Ah, Cloud, she could recognize that voice anywhere. She knew he'd be there. Tifa doubted he would leave her in the clinic surrounded by their energetic co-SOLDIERs.

She was awake. A bit groggy but awake. Her head throbbed slightly but it wasn't anything she couldn't handle. What she couldn't handle was the fact she couldn't move a single part of her body. Panic crawled through her as she struggled to move her fingers.

"I think he's awake now." The doctor informed him, smiling.

"Then why isn't he moving yet?" the blonde asked.

"We've injected him with a potion that numbs the body while it heals, seeing as that he would probably move about without it completely healing."

If she was awake she'd laugh. The doctor knew her well.

"Storm would probably want me to ask when he can move again."

The healer nodded her head, "I'm betting he would."

Footsteps sounded, and judging from it the doctor was heading towards her.

"His wounds are almost gone," she remarked, "he'll be able to move in a few moments."

Awareness, sharp but welcomed.

Tifa's eyelids fluttered open, revealing her mako infused orbs. Her body was still numb, but she could feel her control returning to her.

"I feel like I've been hit by a truck." She muttered, wincing at the rough sound of her voice.

Cloud seemed to read her mind, "I'll get you some water."

"Thanks, Cloud." She thanked him, groaning as she tried to sit up. "How long was I out?" she asked the female doctor beside her.

"Five to six hours I think." The woman answered her.

"HEY! He's awake!"

Tifa pushed down the urge to flee. Suddenly darkness seemed all too welcoming.

Ignoring her mind's call to run for the hills at the knowledge she'd be interrogated, she just smiled at them sheepishly instead.

"Storm, how did you beat that thing?" a fellow SOLDIER asked, a light blonde with mako infused silver eyes.

She forgot his name… Oh well.

"I don't really know." She answered truthfully.

It was true. The memory seemed hazy to her, especially the end of it.

Now that she realized what she had done, she had expected panic to overtake her. She expected fear, anxiety… but for some reason she didn't feel it at this point. She concluded it to be the effect of the medicine they injected into her. Storm was glad for the calmness that seemed prevalent over any other emotion she may be feeling. She smiled; maybe she could get through this after all.

An older SOLDIER seemed to notice her reluctance to talk and changed the subject. "I can't believe that 1st class SOLDIER actually changed the level of the program." He commented in disbelief.

This caught her attention.

"What?" her voice seemed forced, which it was. Where the heck was Cloud?

The SOLDIER nodded his head, "I can't believe it either but he did."

"Who?.." she didn't ask this because she was concerned about the level changing incident, she was asking because she had this feeling…

"Genesis." The name was spat out like it was a virus.

The sound of it coming from her best friend surprised her. "Oh- Cloud…"

Cloud waved the other SOLDIERs away, "Let the guy rest!"

The guys grumbled, one by one filing out the door.

Silence filled the room.

Her earlier calm seemed to wash away as she watched the tense posture of her friend. "What happened?"

Cloud shook his head, "Rest, I'll tell you later."

"Did anyone find out?" she found herself asking, wanting to be reassured.

The blonde didn't speak, and for a moment Tifa felt panic.

"No one's said anything…"

She felt numb, a different kind of numb from earlier. This wasn't the effect of the medicine. This was a dread induced kind of numbness.

"I- I see…" she murmured softly.

"Do you want to go back to the room?" he asked, trying to distract her, a futile attempt.

Tifa nodded, unspeaking, she didn't want to stay in the clinic.

Slowly, she watched as Cloud gathered her into his arms to help her stand.

They didn't speak. No words of comfort were exchanged.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Are you sure about this, Sephiroth?" Lazard raised his head, staring directly into the general's cat like eyes.

The silver haired man nodded, arms crossed as he leant back on the wall.

"Well then…" the director trailed off eyes darting towards the innocent looking file on the desk. "If you're sure…"

"I am." His tone was calm, certain, there was no way a man, even one such as Lazard could say no.

"I'll grant my consent then." The man smiled thinly, turning away from the man.

Sephiroth moved from the wall, heading towards the door.

"Sephiroth…"

The general stop in front of the exit.

"I'll be looking forward to the progress of that student of yours."

The door closed behind him.

"Storm Lockhart…" he murmured thoughtfully, eyes landing on the file on his desk. "I wonder what he sees in you…"

There was no answer, at least for now.

XXXXXXXXXX

Things are really moving aren't they? Hahaha! REVIEW!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5! Surprises are in store! Oh yeah, I don't really know what they call Lazard so we'll just call him 'Director' for the mean time.

Thanks to all those who reviewed!

XXXXXXXXXX

Tifa stared at the white ceiling above her, unable to sleep. How could she? Tomorrow maybe her last day here… Someone out there might know about her secret.

Yes, there would be no sleep for her that night.

She blinked, hissing in pain as the contact lense in her left eye moved. Silently, she got out of bed and headed towards the bathroom, locking the door behind her as she went.

Cursing under her breath, she turned on the lights and scrambled towards the mirror.

Her left eye was steadily becoming red.

Sighing, she carefully removed her bright red contact lense.

Tifa stared at it as she put it into a liquid filled container. The liquid had Mako energy in it.

Yes, she didn't have any mako infused anything. She didn't even take the test to get here. All the information they had on her were made up, faked, craftily sneaked into their database by one of her father's friends. He owed her father and offered his help getting her in, it was pure luck that he turned out to be an influential businessman.

She stared at her reflection. One of her eyes was bright, unnaturally so, the work of her contact lense. The other was a normal red, steadily getting lighter…

Tifa frowned. It was a sign she was wearing her contact lense for too long. It was already affecting her real eye colour.

The contact lense idea just came to her when she was informed that they cadets had Mako injected into their bodies to strengthen them, making them super humans. The most obvious sign that this happened was the significant lightening of their eyes.

She looked weird, she decided then as she stared at her reflection.

Her line of thought was comforting. Thinking her reflection was weird was way better than thinking she may get caught tomorrow.

She sighed, taking her other contact lense out of her right eye.

Normal red eyes stared back at her. She felt vulnerable then. Her last layer of protection was gone. If she didn't have those contact lenses she would be found out. It scared her how much she relied on it.

It brought about the question why she just didn't undergo the procedure, why she didn't sacrifice this last bit of herself to be a true SOLDIER. If she had mako energy inside her, she would be stronger. She wouldn't have to fear anyone taking loved ones away from her.

She wanted to be stronger.

But why couldn't she let go of this? Why couldn't she sacrifice this last bit of herself? She had already given her identity, so why not this?

Maybe that was the reason.

It was the last bit of herself.

Her last link to the past… to her parents…

Tifa Lockhart was born as a normal human girl. Her parents raised her as a normal person.

Being _human_, it was the last thing she had from her parents.

She couldn't let go of that, no matter what the risk was, no matter how much fear she had to go through everyday.

She was staring at normal Tifa. The _real_ Tifa. Not 'Storm'. Not the person she pretended to be.

She wasn't really strong like she let on. Tifa got scared. Tifa had fears. Storm had none. The person she created had nothing to be afraid of. She acted like Storm so that she could forget that little girl inside her…

Was that wrong?

Was trying to forget her fear behind an image of strength wrong?

What was _strength_?

She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts.

She couldn't be thinking about this now. It wasn't the right time or the right place. Or so she told herself.

Her fists clenched at her sides. Why did it sound like she was trying to run away?

XXXXXXXXXX

The next morning hit her like a train.

"Tifa?" she looked up as her best friend appeared before her, his blonde hair hidden by a towel.

"Good morning." She greeted him, not all that lively.

She couldn't pretend everything was alright at the moment and Cloud understood that. He knew her.

"…Tifa! Tifa! Stop daydreaming!" the blonde frowned at her, waving a hand in front of her face.

Tifa blinked, "Wha—?"

Cloud stopped, his eyes widening in comical disbelief, "Your eyes…"

It was then she remembered that she forgot to put on her contact lenses.

"I'll put them on later, don't be a worry wart."

He sighed at her, "Tifa, anyone could come in here at any moment—"

"Storm! You're being called to the Director's office!"

It was like being dumped into a tub of freezing ice water.

All her nerves seemed to freeze. Her breath came in gasps and she felt lightheaded.

"Please tell me he didn't say what I think he said…" she pleaded with Cloud.

Her friend seemed to be as speechless as she was earlier.

"We're not sure if this is about… you know." Cloud tried to comfort his friend.

Tifa wanted to scream. _"What else could this be about?!"_

"Calm down and talk to him." He advised, "If he knows then you should tell the truth."

His advice sounded slightly suicidal… or was that just her?

"Storm! Hurry up!"

Tifa's arms felt heavy as she stood. "I'll be right there!" she shouted to the unknown SOLDIER outside.

"Don't forget your—"

"I won't forget." She said, closing the bathroom door behind her.

XXXXXXXXXX

There it was again, that feeling of numbness. Tifa absentmindedly realized it was happening a lot lately.

The teen sighed, walking towards the elevators.

"Storm!"

She whirled around, smiling despite herself, at the sight of Zack running towards her.

"Zack," she greeted him.

"Where you going?" he asked, tilting his head to the side, bright blue eyes staring at her own vermillion ones.

"Director's office." She answered shortly, not really wanting to be reminded.

"Oh! So it's about that."

Her blood seemed to freeze in her veins, if that was possible.

"You… you know?" she blurted out, eyes widening.

"Of course I know!" Zack replied, pounding her on the back. "I'm a 1st class!"

Tifa felt like fainting, even though it would have had the worst timing in the world. Zack knew. He knew she was a girl.

"Aww! Don't be so scared! Lazard won't eat you alive, you know."

"W-what?" she blinked at him. Why wasn't he asking her about—

"What?" Zack seemed to look a bit confused now.

"So I won't get kicked out..?" she found herself asking, hope in her voice.

"Of course not!" Zack laughed, "Why would you get kicked out?"

It was her turn to be confused now. She sneaked in a highly respected organization which bans girls… "Why wouldn't I get expelled?" she asked back, feeling lightheaded.

What was _going on_?

Zack shook his head, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"But—"

"You should get going! You don't want to keep them waiting!" he grinned, pushing her towards one of the open elevators.

"W-wait! You said '_them'_!!"

She raced to the closing doors, frantically trying to find the older teen's face.

"Yeah! Director Lazard and Sephiroth!"

The elevator doors closed.

Tifa felt her heart pound wildly in her chest. She couldn't hear anything else but it.

Her hands clenched and unclenched at her sides, trying to make sense of the conversation she just had with Zack.

He knew about the meeting she was going to have, but he didn't know she was a girl. How could that be? Seeing as that Zack seemingly knew the reason of her untimely visit to the Director's office…

It made _no_ sense!

Wait.

Zack probably wasn't told she was a girl, since he didn't act weird, but he still knew about the meeting and who was going to be in that meeting…

But why was it that Zack seemed to think there was another reason for it?!

Storm had a very strong urge to pull her hair out of her head.

Unfortunately, it wouldn't do to appear in the office bald.

Suddenly, an image of Cloud bald flashed in her mind. Pangs of amusement bit at her and Tifa struggled to keep her laughter under control.

She was on the verge of insanity apparently.

"_This is not the time for hysterical laughter!!" _her mind shouted at her, very annoyed at the way she was acting.

The elevator doors opened, and she saw the hallway leading towards an office.

There were SOLDIERs stationed, about five of them.

She walked, feeling all eyes on her. She felt like she was on display.

"Storm Lockhart?" the SOLDIER in front of the door asked her.

Storm nodded her head, all thoughts of laughter gone.

"Director Lazard has been waiting for you, go on ahead." He told her, stepping aside.

The door was a polished mahogany, the normal ones instead of mechanical.

She looked down and placed her hand on the door knob and she pushed, one foot entering the room.

Tifa never knew that the moment she entered that room the course of destiny completely altered.

She never knew how many lives she would change by the simple action.

"Good morning, Mr. Lockhart." The Director smiled at her, calming her tense nerves by a bit. "You probably don't know why you're here…"

And of course, she now couldn't escape her intertwined destiny with a certain silver haired general.

Tifa resisted a frown. Of course she knew why she was here—

"You know this man, I presume?" he gestured his hand towards the 1st class SOLDIER next to him.

Tifa blinked and turned her head to the direction he was referring to.

There was no stopping it now…

Luminous vermillion met fluorescent green.

Destiny smiled.

XXXXXXXXXX

WOO! I FINALLY FINISHED THIS. Hahaha, I was having trouble at what to put there at the end. Oh well. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review!


	6. Chapter 6

Here you go! Chapter 6! Thanks to all those who reviewed!

XXXXXXXXXX

When people said Sephiroth was handsome, it was a complete and total understatement. She had never noticed him before, or seen him up close, so she hadn't known that. She had heard rumors of course, about the women who fainted at the sight of him. How his presence simply overwhelmed you. How his eyes seemed to pierce through you…

She had ignored it, seeing as they were _rumors_. Besides, who would faint at the sight of some guy, no matter how good looking they were?

Tifa felt something akin to lightheadedness and immediately began regretting disregarding those rumors, since she now had to undergo the same seemingly endless torture.

He was there, leaning against the wall, looking perfectly at ease.

It hurt to look at him. Tall, six foot three probably, long flowing silver hair, white skin that almost glowed, perfectly formed nose, firm (she didn't really know, but she was betting it was) light pink lips, light green cat like eyes, and that body that seemed to be sculpted out of marble…

Vaguely, she wondered if their enemies were as stupefied as she was at first sight of him. Was that how he defeated them? Taking advantage of their appraisal of his beauty?

"_**Tifa! Get a hold of yourself! You're acting like a… girl!" **_her brain whined at her, stomping imaginary feet on the ground.

"_But I am a girl…" _she thought, completely distracted.

"_**Not right now you're not!" **_her brain shouted at her.

It was unfair really, men shouldn't be that attractive.

There was a powerful and yet infinitely sensual aura around him that draws women like moth to a flame. His whole being seemed to be a seductive promise to all, a dangerous temptation, one that one almost can't resist.

Her heart started to pound, and she felt something akin to fear creep up at her when she noticed something else…

His presence seemed to surround the room, drowning her in it. She almost wondered how she hadn't noticed it earlier.

And there was another thing…

He was staring at her.

XXXXXXXXXX

This was the first time he had seen her up close, and he had to admit he was a bit surprised.

The boy was shorter than he thought. He barely came up to his shoulder.

His eyes were different than he remembered in the training room.

It was softer, cooler. It was the color of red wine instead of the scorching ruby they had been.

Sephiroth was disappointed and for a moment he wondered if those eyes he saw were only a figment of his imagination.

And there was something else…

The younger teen was intimidated, very much so, judging from his the tense set of his shoulders and the wary look in his eyes.

He resisted the urge to frown.

It was an unsettling feeling, seeing the boy scared of him.

Bright cat like eyes scanned him.

Other than his height deficiency, there was also the fact that his build was… lacking.

This time he wondered how he had been able to lift that creature over his head and into a tree with his seeming lack of any strength.

XXXXXXXXXX

It was amusing to look at their interaction.

It was like watching two different animals interact.

A panther and a harmless looking cat…

Both were studying each other, sizing each other up.

It really was humorous to see.

Lazard bit back a chuckle and cleared his throat, drawing the attention of both teens to him.

"Seeing as that you both have had ample time to study each other, shall we get down to business?" he asked, smiling.

A furious blush tried to crawl up Tifa's cheeks but she held it down. Why would she blush anyway? They were all guys here (as far as they knew).

There was no need to blush.

Her eyes drifted away from the silver haired general, trying to focus on the Director instead.

"Storm, I've called you here because there's been a request for you."

"A request..?" she repeated questioningly.

The Director nodded his head, "Sephiroth would like you to become his student."

All coherent thoughts seemed to wash away from her, her nerves in disarray as she tried to process what the older man said.

"_Did he- Is he- Oh Shiva… What… Why?"_

Without realizing it, she had blurted out the question. "Why?"

Both men seemed surprised, Sephiroth more than Lazard.

Any normal SOLDIER would have just accepted the news, this one questioned it…

Sephiroth's eyes glinted in curiosity.

Lazard cleared his throat again, "You seem to have the potential—"

"No I don't." she cut in before she could stop herself, not even thinking anymore. "I'm not fit to be his or any other 1st class SOLDIER's student. I'm an average SOLDIER!"

Lazard raised an eyebrow at this, "No average SOLDIER can beat a level 25 Training Program on his first try, especially a 3rd class one."

"That was just pure luck!" Tifa exclaimed, slamming her hands on the table. "I don't even know what I did out there!"

What was she doing?

The questioned barely registered in her mind.

Why was she making a big deal out of this?

"_I'm not a man."_

Oh, there's a good reason, too bad she couldn't say it.

If she became his student, there was a bigger chance she'd get found out, wouldn't there?

"Throwing a creature over your head is not pure luck," Lazard started before sighing, "Storm, you have potential, raw as it may be. Training under Sephiroth can help you improve. We can turn that potential into skill."

"_I don't want to turn my potential into anything!"_

She was running out of excuses.

"You can become stronger."

"_Stronger?"_

Her thoughts changed direction.

She wanted to become stronger didn't she?

She wanted strength, power to protect loved ones.

Storm shook her head inwardly. What was she thinking? There was no chance… She'd be found and kicked out before she even began her training.

"Storm."

Vermillion eyes drifted towards the man.

"If you don't want to do it, you can always stop. But you might want to give this a chance first." Lazard calmly reasoned. "This is…"

"—_a once in a lifetime opportunity,"_ She continued in her head, _"I know that."_

"I… I understand. I'll give it a shot, sir." She smiled, albeit forcedly.

The Director nodded his head at her, leaning back on his black leather chair. "You're dismissed."

Tifa turned her back and walked out of her room as fast as humanly possible.

"He's an interesting one." Lazard commented as the door shut behind the boy.

Sephiroth nodded his head wordlessly, pushing off the wall and started towards the office entrance.

"Good luck." The Director called after him, chuckling. "You might need it."

XXXXXXXXXX

WOO! THEY FINALLY SEE EACH OTHER FACE TO FACE! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Hahaha, please review!


	7. Chapter 7

Here you go guys! Chapter 7!

XXXXXXXXXX

Tifa didn't know what to think. Hell, she didn't _want_ to think at all! Her mind was a garbled mess. Random voices echoing in it and words like: 'her' and 'Sephiroth' and 'wrong gender' floating in it.

Cloud...

She needed to talk to Cloud.

Her feet walked faster, almost to the point that she was running even though there was no one following her. She paused, stopping in the middle of the hallway. There _was _no one following her… right?

"_Oh Shiva…" _her mind moaned, panic rushing through her as she began her walk again. Sephiroth had picked _her-_ or rather, _him_- as his student!

What was the world coming to? She was the worst pick for him!

Besides, this was like a death sentence. There was no way he wouldn't figure out- if he hadn't yet- that she was a girl!

But, then again, what else could she do? Refusing the offer would arouse suspicion! And besides, she really didn't want to think about the general's reaction to her _refusing _his offer if ever…

What could she do?

She couldn't think straight!

Storm paused directly in front of the room, pushing in the numbers to get in.

The door slid open and she practically ran inside.

"CLOUD!!"

The blonde straightened in shock, turning his attention to her. "Tifa— what—"

"Sephiroth picked me to be his protégée!" Tifa screamed at him, glad that the walls of their rooms were thick.

Sapphire eyes widened, "He did… _What_?"

It was unbelievable, she knew. But she really didn't have the time to deal with his mounting denial as she was furiously trying to deal with hers.

"But—"

"It's insane!" she exclaimed aloud, sitting on her bed.

Cloud frowned, shoving his momentary panic. "But why'd he pick _you_?" he murmured thoughtfully. "No offense, Teef."

"None taken." She muttered dryly. "I was asking myself that same question."

Cloud sighed, "We should look at this in a positive way…"

_A POSITIVE WAY?! Was there a __**POSITIVE WAY **__to look at __**THIS**__?!_

Hysteria was building up. And Tifa wasn't nice when she was hysterical.

"Didn't they say that 'The closer you are to danger the further you are from harm'?" he futilely tried to comfort her.

It sounded crazy.

"STORM!!" a voice bellowed suddenly, and Zack entered their room, all smiles. "Congratulations!!"

Both pairs of eyes stared at him blankly.

"Huh? What are you two doing? Celebrate! This is a once in a lifetime thing!" the dark haired teen encouraged them, patting each on the back.

Tifa resisted a whimper as she sank deeper into her sheets.

"What's wrong with you guys?"

Cloud sighed, running a hand through his spiky blonde hair. "He doesn't want to be his student."

Zack's attention snapped to the prone male on the bed. "You _don't_?" he echoed blankly.

"_Of course I don't!" _she inwardly screamed.

"…"

"Come on, Sephiroth isn't that scary…" Zack found his voice breaking slightly, obviously lying.

Tifa didn't reply.

"You'll get used to him!" the older teen promised, grinning. "After all, you're going to be living with him from now—"

"—What?" an almost breathless question echoed through the room.

The 1st class SOLDIER had a sheepish expression on his face. "Oh… You didn't know about… OH…"

Tifa wanted to scream, really badly.

How was she supposed to _live _with that man?

XXXXXXXXXX

When life gives you lemons you make lemonade. It was a simple fact of life.

But, when life gives you Sephiroth, what do you do with him?

XXXXXXXXXX

Tifa had slept through most of the day. Whether it was due to physical stress or emotional she didn't really know.

She stared blankly into the ceiling, a habit she came to have when she was particularly in a reminiscing type of mood.

She was still wearing her uniform and her vest underneath it.

It was uncomfortable to say the least, but since she was moving in with the General she should get used to it. It wasn't like she could remove the vest while sleeping there.

She had to remain focused.

She was doing this so she can stay with Cloud.

So she needed to face whatever came her way, even if it was the best SOLDIER in history.

Sighing, she looked around the room.

Storm couldn't fall back asleep again.

The dark haired teen stood up, running a hand through her hair to tame it.

She needed air.

XXXXXXXXXX

Night was always peaceful here, Tifa noted as she walked along the empty corridor.

There was no other sound but the faint whirring of machines and her soft footsteps.

She rarely got to indulge in walking around at night. Tifa loved night time. She was used to staying up late and just thinking about random stuff.

Sighing, she looked around, not really knowing where her feet took her.

The lounge…

Storm walked towards the windows, just looking at the sleeping city before her and then at the dark sky…

There were no stars here and she didn't expect any.

The lights from the city were too bright, so you couldn't see the stars.

In Nibelheim, there were hundreds of stars during the night, she loved watching them.

Like black silk with diamonds sparkled across it. Her hand brushed against the glass' cool surface without her knowing it.

Such sentimental thoughts…

Tifa smiled bitterly.

XXXXXXXXXX

Sephiroth was naturally a night person. It was the only time he wasn't bothered by work or people. It was only the time where he could relax and think about things unrelated to Shinra or SOLDIER.

Unfortunately, his time was annoyingly disturbed by thoughts about one of his SOLDIERs.

_Storm Lockhart…_

It was illogical for his thoughts to be captured around one thing in particular, especially for one whole day. But this... _boy… _did it.

How did that SOLDIER capture his interest so completely?

Silently, he walked towards the lounge, his footsteps long and measured.

Sephiroth was a factual person. His job revolved around it. Everything had an explanation. Everything had an answer. His actions were calm, calculated. It was simply how he worked, and it was probably why he was known as one of the greatest war tacticians out there.

He was a logical person. He never let emotions take control of situations, he analyzed everything, and based from his conclusion he would know how to act.

But this boy, he was beyond all logic.

For the first time, Sephiroth found that he couldn't understand something.

Storm was an average SOLDIER at best, and yet he beat a Level 25 Training Program on his first try. He was small, practically swallowed up when standing next to him, and yet he threw a creature three times his size over his head. He was a SOLDIER, and yet he almost turned down the chance to train under him- a once in a lifetime opportunity- and become a 1st class SOLDIER.

His actions defied logic. The facts didn't match with the conclusion.

And his eyes—

The silver haired general stopped in his tracks, a frown forming on his lips.

They change, not the colour, but the shade.

His musings stopped as he heard soft breathing.

Bright catlike eyes scanned his surroundings, landing on the small form of…

Storm Lockhart stood near the large glass windows, apparently consumed in his thoughts.

Sephiroth stopped.

How ironic that the subject of his thoughts would appear before him.

XXXXXXXXXX

Tifa tried to keep all thoughts away. She really didn't want to think right now but her mind wouldn't stop. It was irritating.

"It's late."

Two simple words, it was funny how much impact they had especially if it came from a specific person.

In her case, she jumped three feet into the air and scrambled backwards, trying not to fall over her feet as she stared into Sephiroth's cool eyes.

"_Oh no… I'm here… alone… with him… What do I do!?" _she mentally screamed at herself, trying hard not to give in to the urge to run away, preferably to a place very far away from him.

What should she say?

Should she greet him or what?

What was she supposed to call him anyway?

Tifa bit her lip, trying hard not to look away from his piercing gaze.

XXXXXXXXXX

He didn't know why he suddenly spoke, he really didn't, but he did. He was annoyed with himself, since when did he let himself act on a whim?

Something faintly resembling amusement crossed his eyes.

Oh yes, it was when he met him.

His eyes were truly interesting to watch.

Everything he felt, everything he thought, it showed in them.

They were maroon now, dark, swirling, it drew you in, drowning you.

It was different from the cool wine red, or the burning ruby he had seen.

Such bitterness, it was an expression he never would have thought him to have.

He had apparently discovered another side to his charge.

He didn't want to see that expression for some reason. It was too out of place.

Was that his reason then?

Sephiroth almost laughed at the thought. He was not a sentimental person.

He watched her calmly as he approached. Watching as his dark eyes widened in surprise and she hurried to scramble away.

The shade shifted again, lightening into a rich scarlet, bright and almost… embarrassed?

The way his eyes changed made him curious.

He had seen four different shades so far.

He wanted to see if there were any others…

XXXXXXXXXX

The 1st class SOLDIER was studying her, that much was certain.

Tifa frowned, it reminded her too much of the way he looked at her earlier in the Director's office, as if he was trying to figure out what made her tick.

It was annoying.

"Could you please stop staring at me?" it was more of a question than a statement, and Tifa wanted to hit herself. She was still intimidated by him. That needed to change.

Storm had to face this challenge head on.

Cloud was right.

'The closer you are to danger, the farther you are from harm.'

At least, she hoped he was…

XXXXXXXXXX

When life gives you Sephiroth, what do you do with him?

Answer: Smile, act normal, keep him at arms length and hope to Shiva that he won't figure out you're a girl.

XXXXXXXXXX


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8! Here you go guys!

XXXXXXXXXX

"Could you please stop staring at me?"

Sephiroth raised a fine brow at her, "Why?" his voice was cool, curious, as if he was examining something interesting.

Tifa's eyes narrowed slightly, "It's making me uncomfortable."

"_Oh Shiva… What am I doing?"_

This seemed to amuse him, "Why?"

"_I don't know why!" _her mind exclaimed in irritation. She was trying to figure out _why_. His gaze _just _unnerved her.

She crossed her arms, "What are you doing here?" she asked him, ignoring the fact that she didn't really have any right to ask that question. He was her superior, and possibly from now on her mentor…

"I should be asking you that question." He smoothly replied, silencing her. "Your curfew has passed hours ago."

"I know that…" she frowned at him, ignoring the commanding edge to his tone.

Fluorescent emerald stared into her scarlet orbs. "Then, what are you doing out here?"

The younger teen looked away from him, "Nothing really…"

He didn't ask more than that.

It didn't surprise her. He seemed like the type who didn't care about what others were doing.

Tifa squirmed, shifting from one foot to another, feeling every bit awkward as she stood about five feet away from the renown general.

Who wouldn't be?

He had this presence about him that screams danger, and the cold way he carried himself made it worse.

He was truly intimidating, even without his sword…

Storm blinked in surprise. It was the first time he saw Sephiroth without it, but then again, she didn't normally see him anyway…

Sephiroth was known as a type of loner, a perfectionist…

He was isolated because he was better than everyone else and the fact that he was proclaimed a general at such an early age made him seem untouchable.

Perfect.

That was the word you'd normally associate with him.

Slowly, Tifa found her gaze wandering towards him.

It must have put a lot of pressure on him…

He was always closely watched by other SOLDIERs.

They scorned him because of his achievements, and would probably laugh if he made a mistake.

The world was cruel that way, wasn't it?

As far as she knew, he wasn't really close to anyone in particular.

Loneliness…

She wondered if he ever felt it…

She wrapped her arms around herself gingerly, feeling cold.

She needed to make a conversation or something, even if she was slightly- okay, _very_- scared of him. She just couldn't handle the silence.

"So…" she started, glancing at him from the corner of her eye.

He didn't acknowledge her at all, something she expected to happen.

"_Talk about something! Anything!!"_

"Uhm…"

"_Come on!!"_

"How old are you?" she blurted out hurriedly, smiling nervously as he looked at her.

"Nineteen." He answered stiffly, looking away again.

"Really?" this caught her attention. She didn't realize that he was so young. "You're so young…" she murmured thoughtfully. It was shocking, to be reminded that he was just a teenager. It made him seem more… approachable.

He didn't comment on her amazement.

"Hey…"

Silence.

"Why'd you pick me? I mean, there are a lot of better choices out there…" she reasoned calmly, trying hard not to look at him. Even though they were sort of talking, she still couldn't completely relax, and from her point of view she knew he noticed it too.

"You caught my interest." He told her, his voice deeper than usual.

"How so?" she asked, looking at him now, watching as the moonlight poured down upon him.

He looked like a person carved out of marble, each inch made into perfection.

"_Too beautiful…" _she felt her mind complain. _"Too perfect…"_

Against her will, her heart skipped a beat.

Storm frowned, turning her head away, trying to get rid of her wayward thoughts.

"…"

He wasn't going to answer her, and for some reason she felt relieved.

The silence was back, and Tifa found herself holding back a yawn as her eyes drooped.

XXXXXXXXXX

Silence was something he had gotten used to. It surrounded him most of the time, so it was hard not to get used to it.

And he had learned that there were types of silences as well.

The one right now would be described as an awkward one, not for him, but for the younger teen next to him.

"So…" the soft, almost _feminine_ voice of his charge sounded, carrying to his ears.

Sephiroth didn't move, never gave any indication he was listening.

"Uhm…"

The silver haired man felt the tiniest bit amused. The boy was obviously trying to make a conversation. The key word here is: 'trying'.

Random emotions flashed through his eyes. Nervousness, anxiety, irritation…

He didn't blame him for feeling intimidated. Most men were. He found it entertaining, how those men made utter fools of themselves in front of him.

"How old are you?"

The hurried question made him blink. He glanced at him, not surprised to see a nervous smile on his small face.

"Nineteen." He answered a bit stiffly, not sure how he'd react.

"Really?" it obviously surprised him.

"You're so young…" there was a hint of awe in his tone.

"Hey…"

The boy stopped suddenly.

The silence returned, this time a bit more comfortable.

"Why'd you pick me? I mean, there are a lot of better choices out there…" he heard the younger teen say, rocking back and forth on his feet.

"You caught my interest." He answered truthfully, his voice a touch deeper from lack of sleep.

"How so?" Storm asked curiously, tilting his head towards him.

Sephiroth looked at him then, watching as the moonlight spilled over his small form and highlighted the colour of his eyes.

It was back to its regular vermillion colour.

He sighed softly.

Storm seemed to sense his reluctance to speak and settled back into silence.

It was relaxing as always, but there was something different... something he couldn't put his finger on.

It was late and he was feeling a bit lethargic, he was probably imagining it.

"It's late." He stated softly, glancing at Storm…

…Who was asleep

It was tempting to just leave the boy there, see what his reaction would be in the morning.

It was _very _tempting...

A smirk appeared on his lips and he found himself turning away from the boy and walking towards his quarters.

Tomorrow would be very interesting…

XXXXXXXXXX

Hahaha, gosh, wonder what happens the in the morning? Hmmm…

Review please!


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9 guys! Hope you like it!

XXXXXXXXXX

Voices.

Lots of it.

Some loud, some soft.

Some high pitched, some low.

But they all had one thing in common.

They surrounded her.

Sleepy vermillion eyes opened, blinking.

Faces stared at her.

Tifa's eyes widened and her jaw dropped.

She screamed.

XXXXXXXXXX

Genesis was amused, really, he was. "You left him there?"

"What was I supposed to do?" Sephiroth shot back, sitting in his black leather executive chair behind his desk.

The red haired SOLDIER chuckled, "What are you supposed to do indeed…"

"He maybe my charge, but anything out of training doesn't concern me." He murmured, reading over one of the files on his desk.

Genesis smirked, "When is your training going to start?"

"Today." The general answered shortly.

The older teen shook his head, "I—"

A high pitched scream cut him off.

XXXXXXXXXX

Tifa had a list.

This list is where her top five most memorable moments were written. Some of them are happy, some sad, and some embarrassing.

It was hard to top the things on that list.

And there was no doubt waking up in the middle of the lounge, being stared at by co-SOLDIERs and being laughed at had made it on the list.

And, oh yeah, let's not forget the screaming.

Her fists clenched and unclenched a futile attempt to cool her bubbling rage as she stalked down the corridor to her room.

She was angry- no, scratch that.

Tifa bit her lip, so hard it almost drew blood.

She was furious!

At who?

No one else but their jerk of a general: Sephiroth.

Why didn't he wake her up last night?

Why did he just leave her there?

He knew this would happen!

He was such a—

Tifa knew there was something deeper to this than her embarrassment.

Something she didn't want to admit.

Scarlet orbs faded into maroon.

She was disappointed.

Sometime during that night, she thought that he was almost…

Kind…

Storm snorted in disbelief.

She let her guard down for a moment.

The Sephiroth she met last night was nothing more than an illusion made up in her mind because she had wanted to believe that he wasn't like other people said.

She wanted to give the benefit of the doubt.

Cloud once said that it was her weakness. She had laughed then.

But she now saw that she was all wrong, and he was right.

Storm's steps slowed as she reached the door.

She was overreacting, and in some points, maybe she was.

But her pride had been hurt.

She deserved to be angry.

Tifa sighed, punching in the codes so she could get in the room.

She needed to get dressed and join the others in the training room.

No matter how embarrassing it would be.

XXXXXXXXXX

She was overreacting.

After a really long hot shower, she realized that.

She shouldn't be angry at the general.

It was his nature.

He didn't care about other people.

What made her any different?

The dark haired girl sighed, putting on her vest and then her uniform.

She should just move on. Forget about it. Handle the situation as a mature individual.

Tifa frowned, staring at her fingerless gloves.

XXXXXXXXXX

Cloud was torn between laughing at what happened to his best friend and sympathising with her.

It was a tough decision.

Truly, it was.

"Cloud," the girl glared at him, "you're laughing at me aren't you?"

She was annoyed. The moment she entered the room whispers and snickers broke out. It was like a disease, infecting anything and everything in that area.

The blonde shook his head hurriedly, not wanting to incur her wrath.

"Don't lie, Strife. I can see it in your eyes!" she accused, eyes flashing as she pointed her finger at him.

Cloud stared at her and she stared back, neither blinked.

Zack watched the exchange with a raised eyebrow. Sure he was their superior, and as such, needed to break up the argument, but then their staring match was intriguing.

He didn't blink, not wanting to miss the moment any one of them lost.

The other SOLDIERs stared at them.

No one was now blinking.

Tifa's eyes watered, but she couldn't lose to Cloud. She wasn't going to blink.

Glassy sapphire eyes stared back at her.

"_Blink already!!" _her mind shouted at him.

"What is going on here?!" the loud, irritated voice of the instructor resounded through the preparation room.

Both competitors tore their eyes away at the same moment, making Zack sigh.

All the other students turned their attention to the teacher.

Staring matches were childish.

There was no room for childishness in SOLDIER.

"Prepare for level 17 Training Program! You'll be heading inside in groups of three. Go to your groups and head towards the designated training rooms." The man instructed, glaring at each one of them.

Tifa sighed, going to the training room assigned to her group.

The instructor stopped her.

"Lockhart! What are you doing here?"

The confused teen turned towards the teacher. "I'm a student in this class…"

"But you're no longer a 3rd class SOLDIER. Where is your instructor?" the man asked her, referring to Sephiroth.

The vermillion eyed teen shrugged, not really knowing or caring about his whereabouts.

The instructor sighed. "Go find him then."

"But—"

"_I want to stay here!"_

No matter how much she said she was over the earlier incident, she really wasn't.

How could she when she heard snickers behind her back when she passed in the hall?

Or how the other SOLDIERs would tease her about her new sleeping quarters?

Or how she drooled?

Tifa pouted. She so did not drool.

Zack patted the boy on his back. "I'll go with you then. Need to talk to the general anyway." He grinned at her.

She sighed, nodding. "I'll tell Cloud."

XXXXXXXXXX

She felt nervous.

Then again, she always is, around him.

Sephiroth just wasn't a person you could get used to.

He had that 'I'm-better-than-you-aura'.

In his office, it was much worse.

She felt suffocated with his presence.

Everything around her seemed to scream Sephiroth.

From the dull gray interior, large windows, large desk, leather chair…

There were no plants.

No pictures.

Nothing that was connected to… anything.

It was empty, cold…

Just like him.

Tifa shook her head.

She really needed to stop overanalyzing things.

"What do you want?"

The question was sharp, piercing. His tone was calculating, professional.

"Storm wants to ask about his training, and I need to go over that mission you're sending me on."

Sephiroth barely glanced at them, as he was still reading the papers in front of him.

It struck her as rude.

Tifa berated herself. So what if he was rude? It wasn't her business.

XXXXXXXXXX

There was a glaring difference from the boy he talked to last night and the boy in his office.

This Storm seemed more guarded, tense.

In all truth, he had half-expected her to come barging in his office and demand that he apologize.

This standoffish teen seemed to be doing the opposite.

Sephiroth felt irritated.

Once again, Storm was proving his logic wrong.

It was becoming an annoying habit.

He wasn't used to being wrong.

If he had done what he did to anyone else, the person should have been furious, it was a logical conclusion.

Was Storm that afraid of him?

Or was it that he simply didn't care?

The silver haired general found that he preferred the first explanation rather than the latter.

XXXXXXXXXX

Tifa felt irritation crawling through her veins. Was he just going to ignore them?

"_If he does, what you can do?" _her mind asked her pointedly.

Nothing.

The answer was obvious.

She didn't know how to deal with him.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Zack, I'll discuss that with you later." The general told the dark haired teen, eyes shifting towards Storm.

It was an obvious dismissal of him.

Zack shrugged, shaking his head as he walked out.

Tifa felt herself tense even more. Why was he going to leave her alone?

She wasn't going to stay here with him.

The dark haired girl found herself turning around as well to follow the 1st class SOLDIER.

"Where are you going?"

The question made her freeze.

Sephiroth's fluorescent green eyes settled on her.

Tifa turned around slowly, eyes lowered.

XXXXXXXXXX

Another confrontation! Hahaha, hope you enjoyed this chapter.

REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!


	10. Chapter 10

Here you go guys

Here you go guys! Chapter 10!

XXXXXXXXXX

Tifa held still, eyes trained on the flawless steel table in front of her. Steel, leather… did this man have a fetish or something?

Okay, so maybe thinking about the possible obsessions of the general wasn't a good thing, seeing as that she was standing right in front of him. But hey, it's better than dwelling on her inner chaos, right?

"Lockhart."

His voice was smooth, and she would think that the way he said her name was completely and totally bone melting, that was if she had the time to think that. But she didn't, which was probably a good thing.

"Yes?" her voice came out as a squeak, something that made her wince and want to hit her head on the nearest available flat surface.

The floor was covered with granite. That would hurt a lot, wouldn't it?

"_Self-harm is not the answer, Tifa!" _she heard her mind shout at her, clucking her imaginary tongue.

She looked up at the silver haired general, wishing she didn't the moment she saw his cat like eyes were staring right at her.

Storm tried not to blink.

Not that blinking was a sign of weakness, it was just she really didn't trust the guy. He could probably have his sword out and have her cut into pieces in the time that she blinked.

Yup, blinking was a no-go.

"You're training schedule is in there." The man said, his eyes going to the folder to his side.

Tifa wanted to scream at the guy's laziness. Or was he just being rude? She really didn't know.

So she walked over, wary, her hand reaching out to grab the folder, ignoring his amused gaze on her.

It all happened in a split-second.

Tifa blinked in shock, a squeak dying in her throat as she found herself half-sprawled on the general's desk.

"_Oh Shiva…"_

The neatly stacked papers from before were lying scattered on the once clean floor.

"I'm so, so, _so_ sorry…" the dark haired teen apologized, her gaze lifting to him…

…only to find his face literally inches from her own.

"Waa!" she screamed, scrambling away from him, taking the folder with her, eyes wide in shock.

He watched with what she would describe as irritation and… more irritation.

Sephiroth stood up calmly, pushing the chair in as he did so.

Every movement slow and calculated…

He walked over to her, and Tifa had to gain all her courage to _not _back away from his advance.

Why o why did she keep getting herself in these situations?

Tifa didn't close her eyes, and ignored the rapid pounding of her heart in her ears.

Could he hear it?

He was a mako infused being. He had to have super hearing or something.

The thought of him hearing her heart beat made her cheeks flush in embarrassment.

She held her breath as he closed in and…

…completely bypass her.

"Clean this up." He ordered her, his tone icy enough to freeze her.

"Yes, sir!" she saluted, keeping her face away so that he wouldn't see the blush on her cheeks.

He left her there, alone.

Storm sighed in relief.

XXXXXXXXXX

The dark haired teen sighed, running a hand through her short tresses. She had cleaned up the papers as well as she could, which wasn't really good at all.

Her training schedule was in her right hand, she didn't have the courage to open it yet.

Judging from the kind of person Sephiroth was, this training was going to be impossible for her.

Cloud and Zack were missing.

She frowned.

It was a good thing everyone had classes today, or else she'd be trying to fight of jokes about her little incident right now.

Putting in the codes to the room, she waited for the door to open.

_**ENTER**_

She went it.

XXXXXXXXXX

Impossible.

There was no way she could do this.

This was madness!

**50 kilometer jog every morning at 4:00 am (weights will be added if you do not finish by 5:30 am)**

**250 push-ups and sit-ups (more will be added if you do not finish in two hours)**

**P.S.**

**Your food will be withheld if you do not finish all within the day.**

**Repeat this schedule for this month, assessment test will be held at the end of the month.**

Storm's jaw dropped.

"_Oh…"_

But she was a girl (even if he didn't know that)! And this training was made for mako infused people! She was _normal_! How could she survive this?

These were the times she had to curse herself for being a girl.

She sighed.

And this assessment test…

What was it for?

If she failed it, would he give up on training her?

Her fist clenched.

What was wrong with her?

This was a golden opportunity…

If she failed…

XXXXXXXXXX

Cloud was avoiding Tifa.

Something no one would have ever predicted to happen.

But he was.

Why?

Because he was jealous of her, very jealous.

He knew it was stupid.

But he couldn't stop himself.

Tifa was going to be taught by the greatest SOLDIER that ever lived, and she didn't even want the chance.

She was just doing it to cover up her secret.

Questions bothered him about that day in the training room.

What if he had been the one called first? Would it be him?

Was Tifa better than him?

He knew he shouldn't be thinking this way.

Tifa was doing this for him.

He was her best friend, the most important person to her, he couldn't betray her like this.

But, fact was, he was Cloud before Tifa's best friend. Cloud wanted to become strong like Sephiroth, for him, to be given an opportunity life Tifa's—

Cloud had dreams too.

_He _had dreams too.

XXXXXXXXXX

Tsk, tsk, tsk. I sense trouble ahead! Things keep happening that makes Tifa change her mind. What do you think? Will she try her best to pass? Or fail miserably? What will Cloud do next?! REVIEW!


	11. Chapter 11

Sorry for the late update. School has begun and is trying its best to suck the life out of me. Hahaha! Anyway, enjoy!

XXXXXXXXXX

Tifa bent forward, her hands coming to rest on her knees as she tried to catch her breath. Her limbs were aching, pushed too far in her opinion. The burst of energy she had after drinking coffee that morning had significantly declined.

Panting, she slid to the floor, sitting in an ungraceful heap.

She's been at this all morning. Running and running, trying to finish what was written on that little piece of paper.

So far she's run about fifty something meters. Her head bent down, defeated.

She was in worse shape that she thought.

The dark haired teen sighed, running a hand through her hair. She was going to die of fatigue at this rate.

"_I should be glad he didn't put 'no resting' during the run, or else I'll really die. Good thing we have chicken for breakfast today…"_

**Your food will be withheld if you do not finish all within the day.**

Storm immediately stood up, ignoring her body's protest.

There was no way she was going to miss breakfast.

XXXXXXXXXX

She missed breakfast.

Tifa glared at the empty cafeteria.

Where the hell were all the cooks?

Her stomach growled, reminding her of her hunger.

She really needed to eat. Her energy level was zero, and steadily crawling to negatives.

"L-Lockhart!" one of the cooks said, as they walked in and saw her there.

Relief flooded her as she smiled at the cook. "Hey—"

"I-I'm so sorry! But the general said that we will not give you your meals until you've finished…" the young girl trailed off, bowing her head.

What?! But she already finished all the running with all that added weight (she failed to finish on time and had to repeat). She had been tempted to just say she'd finish on time but that wouldn't really be fair would it?

She was starting to regret her whole honesty thing she had going.

"B-b-but!!" she cried out, not caring that she was whining, "I'm going to die!!"

The cook looked more awkward than before. "Err…"

"Can't you please, please, please give me something?" Tifa asked, turning her vermillion gaze to the frozen girl.

"Resorting to begging now, Lockhart?" a deep baritone asked.

The SOLDIER gulped, turning her head to see a silver haired general standing behind her. "S-Sir…" she greeted, stuttering.

"You haven't finished your training yet." His icy tone felt like someone had thrown water at her.

The vermillion eyed teen crossed her arms, feeling defensive. "I can't finish all those push-ups and sit-ups without energy. And food provides energy," she bit out the last word, "Sir."

"So it does." He said, passing by her, amusement lining his tone.

"So can I eat?" she asked, trying and failing to keep the hope from entering her tone.

"No."

Tifa's gaze dropped to the floor. "Oh."

"Damn sadistic… person!" she muttered under her breath.

"Did you say something, Lockhart?" an eyebrow raised at her direction, and Tifa flushed.

"_Did he hear that?!"_

"Nothing, Sir!" the dark haired SOLDIER denied firmly, not meeting the eyes of the general.

"I thought so." He smirked at her, exiting the cafeteria.

XXXXXXXXXX

The vermillion eyed teen sighed, lying on the floor of the training centre, her stomach growling.

She had to repeat the 250 push-ups and sit-ups order which was supposed to fit in two hours or else she'd miss lunch as well.

Another sigh escaped her.

She should get started if she wanted to make it for lunch.

Her eyes drifted closed and she yawned.

"_A little nap won't hurt, right?"_

"Mmm…"

She fell dead asleep.

XXXXXXXXXX

Cloud watched as his friend slept, shaking his head at the place she picked for a nap.

"Of all the places…" he murmured, wondering if he'd have to report this to General Sephiroth for his hourly report of her training.

Yes, he was the one watching her to see if she actually did her training.

The 1st class SOLDIER assigned him that duty the day before.

He had watched as Tifa barely finished her morning run (her third attempt) which was full of stops and water breaks. The first two times she practically gave up after the first few meters, even laughing at herself.

She was half-hearted.

It was fairly obvious and his envy only increased the more he watched.

And now, here she was, sleeping.

The blonde frowned, looking away from his best friend.

"Mmm..?" Tifa slowly opened her eyes, focusing on the teen sitting beside her. "Cloud..?"

"You shouldn't be sleeping here." He told her, his voice a bit colder than he expected.

The younger teen blinked in surprise. "Are you mad at me?" she asked him, frowning.

"No."

"Then what's with the attitude?"

"I'm not mad—"

"Yes you are! You're practically glaring at me!"

The blonde stood, ignoring the girl beside him.

"Cloud!"

He began walking away, but a small hand caught his wrist, not letting him get away.

"What's wrong? Did I do something—"

Suddenly, he just exploded. "That's just it, Tifa!" he burst out, not caring he used her real name, "You aren't doing _anything_! This training, this life, you're just half-hearted about it! You don't care whether you're Sephiroth's apprentice or not!"

Storm looked shocked, both at his lack of secrecy and the accusations he was throwing at her. Those weren't true, at least not all of them. She wasn't half-hearted about this. She made her decision to stay here… with him. There was no changing that.

"Cloud… It's just…"

Cloud exhaled forcefully. "You don't want to be his student because you're worried he might found out, and you're too scared to decline because they might become suspicious of you, am I right?"

Tifa couldn't speak. It was as if all the words were lodged at the back of her throat, unable to come out.

"You can't live like that. Not here."

His eyes never softened. "Other SOLDIERs would die to be in your position, and here you are…"

"_No… No… Cloud…!" _she wanted so badly to scream, but she couldn't even open her mouth. She was frozen in place.

He stared at her hard, "I think you should leave."

It felt like the wind had been knocked out of her.

"_Leave?" _her mind repeated, unable to absorb the words her best friend had just said.

He wanted her to leave.

Her fists clenched and unclenched, a nervous habit.

But he always says that… He doesn't really mean it… Right?

Tears stung her eyes, blurring her vision.

Cloud turned his back to here, pulling his wrist out of her limp grasp, and walked away.

He was walking away.

"_No… Cloud…"_

Her eyes squeezed shut.

"_Don't leave me…!"_

A choked sob erupted from her throat, but there was no one there to hear it but her.

XXXXXXXXXX

There…! Cloud finally had it! This'll help her FINALLY decide. Finally. Hahaha. Anyway, review please!


	12. Chapter 12

Hi guys! Sorry about this super duper late update. Fourth year HS is a hell of a lot tiring. HAHAHA! Anyway, so that you don't get confused, there will be a Zack POV here so when Tifa does something it will be ex: "he raised his hand" not "she raised her hand" because it IS Zack's POV and he thinks Tifa's a guy. Well, enjoy!

XXXXXXXXXX

She knew staring at the wall wouldn't make things any better, but she still did it. She knew she should be finishing her training before the day ended so that she could finally eat but the idea of food seemed to leave a bitter taste in her mouth.

"_You don't want to be his student because you're worried he might found out, and you're too scared to decline because they might become suspicious of you, am I right?"_

Yes… He was right about that, right about her.

But could he blame her for feeling that way? She did this for him. She just wanted to protect him.

Tifa bit her lip, drawing her knees closer to herself, her head bent down. "I…"

"_You can't live like that. Not here."_

Did he think she wanted to live this way? Yes, he probably did. As far as he knew, she did this out of her own will… In a way, she was making a fool about the people in this program. Her only purpose was to stay close to Cloud, to be with the only person she had left. The people here trained good and hard so that they could protect the people, not just one person.

Was this, was what she was doing, a bad thing?

"_I think you should leave."_

Was Cloud right? Should she leave? But, what would she do out there?

Tears streamed down her cheeks, and she made no move to wipe them away. She was always telling herself that she was here for Cloud, but when the outside world was presented to her, it scared her.

It made her think if she really wanted to be with Cloud or if she was just using him to placate her own fears.

XXXXXXXXXX

Zack was worried, very worried. Cloud had gone and locked himself in his room after a horrible training session and he was left to clean up the damage.

Storm was gone as well, somewhere out there, probably completing his training for the day. The dark haired SOLDIER sighed, running a hand through his hair as he tried to look for the missing teen.

"_Where could Storm be?" _he thought, frowning.

"Storm, are you in here?" Zack shouted, entering one of the training rooms, his sapphire eyes scanning the area in one quick sweep.

A muffled voice answered him.

The 1st class SOLDIER blinked, his body moving on its own accord towards the source of the small sound.

"Storm, what are you doing here—?" Zack stopped at the sight of Storm sitting in one corner, knees held tightly to himself with his head bent towards his knees. "Hey, what's wrong?" concern filled his voice, and from afar he could see the younger teen's shoulders shake.

Storm shook his head, well, as well as he could. "N-nothing…" he answered, sniffing.

The older teen sighed, sitting on the space beside Storm, leaning against the wall with his legs outstretched before him. "It's obviously not **nothing**." He commented quietly, glancing at him from the corner of his eye.

Silence enveloped them, and for a moment Zack thought the dark haired boy-teen wouldn't reply.

"Why did you join SOLDIER?"

The blue eyed teen blinked, caught off guard by the out of the blue question, "Why I wanted to join SOLDIER..." he repeated, looking up at the ceiling. "I think… I think I wanted to join SOLDIER because I wanted to be a hero." He said, laughing a bit after. "Silly, huh?"

Storm seemed to look up at this, his red eyes flashing with something he couldn't exactly name. "You… wanted to be a hero?"

Zack nodded, turning his head to look at him. "I wanted to save lives and become a hero like Sephiroth." He stated silently, shrugging. "Why do you ask?" he asked, watching the boy bite his lip.

"I… I joined SOLDIER so I could protect someone."

"That's a great goal, better than mine at any rate." Zack remarked, grinning his usual grin. "It's great that you want to protect someone and you're doing your best to do that."

"Doing… my best?" Storm repeated questioningly.

"All you're training now, becoming Sephiroth's protégée, that's all because you want to protect someone, right? You're doing your best now so that you can achieve your goal."

XXXXXXXXXX

"_All you're training now, becoming Sephiroth's protégée, that's all because you want to protect someone, right? You're doing your best now so that you can achieve your goal."_

Tifa stared at her friend, amazed at how he could turn her problem and everything and just hand her a simple answer without even knowing he was doing it.

He was right.

She did want to become stronger, that's why she went here with Cloud. Sure, at first it had been because she just wanted to stay close to the man that was almost her younger brother, but that had been at the beginning.

When she was given this opportunity, she had backed away from it, almost fearing it. She had been changing her mind all this time because she was paranoid and…

Storm felt beginnings of a smile on her lips.

It was all clear now.

She shouldn't be treating this opportunity as a curse. She should be using it to her advantage. Hadn't she wished she was stronger? This was the chance to change that. She could be stronger now.

If she stayed with Cloud, what would that be for them? She wouldn't be able to do anything for him. But if she became stronger, she could stay with him and help him at the same time.

Wasn't the second idea better than the first?

Tifa nodded her head, wiping away what was left of her tears with the back of her hand.

"Zack…" she whispered, watching as the 1st class SOLDIER glanced at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Mmm?"

She tilted her head to the side, shooting a warm smile his way, "Thanks." She whispered gratefully, getting up on the floor. "Well, I've got to get going; I haven't exactly finished _his _training for the day." She said, nodding her head at him, her smile never disappearing as she ran towards the door.

She didn't notice the large blush covering Zack's cheeks.

The electronic door slid open, and Tifa found herself running through the corridors with renewed energy.

"_Cloud, I won't be half-hearted anymore, I promise."_

XXXXXXXXXX

This chapter is done! Woo! Tifa has finally decided on something! FINALLY! Hahaha, Zack is such a sweet guy!! I just couldn't resist the blush there at the end. Hehehe! Read and review people!


	13. Chapter 13

YAAAY! UPDATED! WOO!!!

XXXXXXXXXX

Tifa panted, her hands on her knees as she leant forward trying to catch her breath.

Barely a month had passed ever since that confrontation with Cloud.

They still hadn't talked.

Vermillion eyes stared at the ground as she stood up and stretched her sore limbs.

Three weeks of silence, of deadly training…

"_The assessment is tomorrow." _Storm tried to reassure herself, but the mere thought of the assessment sent nervous chills racking through her small form.

General Sephiroth hadn't even given her any idea on what her assessment would be on. Would there be another fight like last time? She would be facing it alone tomorrow. Cloud wouldn't be there.

The dark haired teen bit her lip and shook her head. She couldn't think about it now. She had made her decision and she'd show Cloud how serious she was.

She'd show him…

Determination lit up her eyes and she pushed herself off her knees and began the second part of her training. She needed to be ready for tomorrow.

"_Wait for me, Cloud."_

XXXXXXXXXX

The blonde SOLDIER watched silently as his friend went through her training. Tomorrow would be the assessment.

Cloud sighed, running a hand through his hair in irritation.

"_What would Tifa do?" _the question had been repeating in his mind eversince the last time they'd talked. She was doing well in her training as compared to the first week, but, without mako energy and knowledge on the test the silver haired SOLDIER would be giving, would it be enough?

He was worried about her, even if they hadn't talked for so long. He couldn't _not _be worried. Tifa was his best friend and he wanted her to be…

He wanted her to stop dilly dallying and to make a decision.

This was what's best for her.

XXXXXXXXXX

"He's doing really well." Genesis commented from his spot by Sephiroth's window, eyes watching Storm's form closely.

Bright green eyes glanced in his direction before moving back to the papers in front of him, not even deigning his friend's comment with a reply.

The 1st class SOLDIER chuckled, "But, I wonder if he'll pass."

The general gave a soft grunt before continuing his work, "That will depend on him."

The red head smirked, turning his gaze back at the teen outside the window with a glint in his eyes, "I guess it will."

XXXXXXXXXX

Zack grinned, jogging over to Storm, waving at him. "Hey, Storm!"

Today was the day.

The said SOLDIER turned to smile at him, "Oh. Hey, Zack."

And the older teen couldn't help but notice that he sounded a bit disappointed. "Don't worry!" he exclaimed loudly, surprising red eyed SOLDIER. His blue eyes turned serious, "I'm sure he'll come and cheer you on."

Storm shrugged and gave a small sigh, "I… I hope so."

XXXXXXXXX

Cloud could possibly not come. She knew that.

But, deep inside, she hoped that even if they hadn't been that close these past few weeks, that he'd still be there for her.

She was nervous, and increasingly so. She had no idea what she was going to face.

"Zack," she started, turning to her friend, "I'll try my best…" she slowly said, clenching her fists.

Zack grinned at her, "Of course you will!"

"_Because… I have a dream. I want to protect the people that are important to me…" _Storm looked away, and started walking towards the training center.

She had to overcome this test. She just had to. Fear shouldn't control her.

Zack watched his friend with a small smile, "Good luck, Storm."

The door swished closed behind the 3rd class SOLDIER.

XXXXXXXXXX

Sephiroth stood before her, quietly regarding her with cool mako infused eyes.

Storm steeled herself, staring directly into his eyes trying not to blink.

The silver haired general merely raised a perfectly arched brow and nodded his head towards the door going to the simulation area.

Tifa almost sighed in relief, feeling as if she'd somehow been given a small test and passed.

Her eyes brightening with resolve, she walked passed the the 1st class SOLDIER and entered the room.

Red bold letters spelled across the computer screen in front of Sephiroth.

**LEVEL 40 Training Program: ENGAGED.**

XXXXXXXXXX

There wasn't any beautiful scenery like before, and she was almost lulled into the belief that this was some sort of lower level.

But, that wouldn't make sense.

If she had somehow beaten the level 25 program, he should be giving her something higher.

Tifa grabbed her sword, poising it at the ready.

Silence came from all corners of the room.

"_Where's the enemy?"_

Storm frowned, wondering if the general was still picking a level for her.

She wasn't ready when a long glinting katana that looked unbelievably similar to Sephiroth's weapon coming straight for her, crashing against her own sword.

Her eyes widened as she met luminous cat like eyes.

She was supposed to beat the _Sephiroth training program_?!

Her knees buckled at the sheer strength of the blade pressing her down.

"_Oh Shiva...!" _she internally prayed, pushing herself away from the general with her sword. _"What do I do?!" _she hissed to herself as she watched the program begin its slow measured walk towards her. Her grip on her sword tightened, turning white.

The program stopped.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, the real Sephiroth's deep baritone sounded, "Your test will be landing one single blow on the program in thirty minutes."

There was a pause, and a horrified shiver racked her body.

"Your time starts now."

The program raised its sword, and moved…

Straight for her…

XXXXXXXXXX

Sephiroth leaned back from the microphone, his hand moving away from the speaker button.

His eyes watched the timer tick and turned his gaze back to Storm.

"_What will you do now, Lockhart?" _he internally asked, crossing his arms in front of his broad chest.

Cat like eyes bored into the younger teen's form in bright curiosity.

XXXXXXXXXX

The news of Storm's test broke out into the SOLDIER lounge.

"He's what?!" a blonde exclaimed in obvious shock and horror.

"Damn! I wouldn't want to be him right now!" another one commented, wincing as he heard the news.

Cloud raised his head, his heart thumping loudly in his ears. Hands suddenly stomped on his table, and the blonde found himself looking at Zack's furious gaze.

"Aren't you going?!" he snapped at the younger teen.

"_Tifa… is…"_

Without a single word, the blonde pushed himself off his chair and ran towards the training room, not minding the proud smile on the 1st class SOLDIER's face.

Genesis watched the events play out, a smirk evident on his lips.

This would be interesting.

XXXXXXXXXX

OOOH. Yes!!! I've finally updated. WOO! Review please! :D


	14. Chapter 14

Yes, I know this chapter is long overdue. O_O Good news though: I've graduated High School with flying colors! Woo!!! Anyway, enjoy this chapter!

XXXXXXXXXX

Tifa wasn't a pessimistic person. Sure, she was paranoid and overtly cautious, but she didn't have a "Everything-will-go-wrong" mind set.

Until now.

Tifa let out a pained breath as she used her strength to shove the rapidly nearing katana to the side, jumping backwards to avoid a fast swing of the blade as it came back. Sweat dripped down from her temples, her heart racing as she backed away from the thing.

It was unreasonable, she knew, to think that she was going to die in this _test _of his. But, the facts stared at her in the face, telling her that there was _no _humanely possible way that she'd win this fight.

One, she was fighting the _**Sephiroth **_training program. No one had ever beaten it (as far as she knew) and the only ones who probably had the chance to even almost beat it is the 1st class SOLDIERs, which, did not include her and probably won't _ever _include her, seeing as that she was doing to die a rather clean cut death. Maybe.

"_Can you die in a training program_?" Storm thought to herself distractedly, trying not to dwell on the rising hysteria and desperation in her system as she tried to out run the program who was chasing— no, _stalking_, chasing wasn't a graceful enough term— her.

She had the sudden urge to close her eyes and pray to whatever higher being out there to get her out of this. But, she couldn't close her eyes. She couldn't even risk blinking too much for fear that he'd suddenly appear and skewer her with that long deadly katana of his.

The computer program who bore a remarkably accurate appearance to the real Sephiroth narrowed its mako green eyes at her, making him look even more intimidating that he already was.

The hands were shaking, she could barely hold the sword upright. She was tired, sweaty, and bruised everywhere. Her arms arched from holding up the suddenly heavy weapon and she felt the urge to just hit something, preferably the Sephiroth look-a-like so that she could win this fight.

"Seventeen minutes." The electronic voice of the computer boomed through the room.

Anxiety rushed through her at the reminder. She had already wasted thirteen minutes on the defensive. Absently pushing back her pessimistic trail of thought she realized that she had to go on the offensive this time.

Storm knew she had to think of something to beat this thing. There _had _to be a way. Her eyes warily watching her enemy, her body moved backward as the program began its steady pace towards her, not even rushing itself, just walking with an arrogance and confidence she was almost awed by.

Even when she was being handed her own ass in a silver platter, she couldn't help but admit that he was _really _good— fighting wise, of course—.

Tifa resisted the urge to roll her eyes. This wasn't the time to think Sephiroth was attractive— which he was.

The 3rd class SOLDIER shook her head, clearing her thoughts. She couldn't beat him with that sword of his. She could barely even use hers except for blocking his insistent attacks. She couldn't risk throwing away her sword and relying on her fists. Her hands couldn't block steel, she'd be left with _no _hands. His sword kept her at a distance as well, which was bad for her. She needed…

The teen bit her lip, almost to the point where it'd bleed. _"Think, Tifa! Think!" _she screamed inwardly, holding her sword at the ready.

If she could get near him… if she could disarm him— or at least occupy his sword— and take advantage…

She could land a hit.

"_Alright!" _she told herself, preparing her body as her mind formed a plan. Her heart beat which had calmed at the short break had begun to race once more, pounding wildly in her ears. _"Operation: 'Distract The Sephiroth Program', starts now!"_

XXXXXXXXXX

Cloud knew he had been acting stupid. He _knew_. He should have been helping Tifa instead of giving her the cold shoulder and more importantly trying to get her to _leave_. The electronic door swished open in front of him, and he immediately raced inside to see how his best friend was.

He couldn't forgive himself if…

The blonde shook his head, he didn't even notice the presence of General Sephiroth behind him, or Zack and Genesis following him inside the room. His sapphire eyes were locked on the form of his best friend.

"_Tifa…"_

XXXXXXXXXX

Sephiroth watched through increasingly bored eyes as his protegee almost got his head cut off by the program, a rather often occurrence in the past thirteen minutes.

The younger teen only had about sixteen minutes left until the test would be over. He only had sixteen minutes to land a hit on the enemy.

His chances were getting progressively smaller.

The 1st class SOLDIER folded his arms, leaning back against the wall as he watched the relatively fruitless battle in front of him. There was nothing interesting to watch, after all, the red eyed boy just kept running and blocking. He was vaguely impressed by the stamina he showed, but still. In a real battle, stamina wasn't everything. It needed strength, intelligence, and at some times risks.

What was being shown in front of him was just a game of cat and mouse. And Storm was going to get caught sooner or later.

He quelled a sigh, ignoring the rising disappointment within him, and just proceeded to wait until the battle was over.

"AAAAHHH!!!" a rather feminine sounding scream reached his ears, the voice coming directly from the room he should be watching.

But before Sephiroth could fully take in the situation, a solid "thwack" was heard through out the room, echoing even in the room where he and the others were watching.

A disbelieving laugh escaped the 3rd class SOLDIER— "_Strife?"— _in front of him. Zack's jaw was dropped, bright eyes opened wide.

Genesis' blue eyes shone in complete incredulity.

And he couldn't help but think that he was currently experiencing the same emotion.

XXXXXXXXXX

Tifa let out a battle cry, sprinting towards the faintly surprised— was she imagining that?— Sephiroth program.

The ruby eyed teen jumped and swung her sword down towards the silver haired assailant, unsurprised to find it immediately blocked by the _Masamune_. Launching the first phase of her plan she let go of the sword with one hand, relying on gravity and her own weight to occupy the long sword, and swung her fist towards the program's face.

She only had about three seconds to land this blow. Her fist was just inches from its target— and then, everything seemed to go to hell at that point.

Her fist, which was moments from winning her the match, had been blocked, slapped away from the General hologram as if it was an annoying bug. And at the same time, the _Masamune_ had disarmed her, sending her sword, her only shield from the cold blade, flying away and embedding itself in one of the walls.

It was then she realized.

He used one hand in using his sword, unlike her.

"_Shiva!" _she cursed in her mind, unbelieving at her own stupidity. _"How could I have not noticed that?!"_

Tears pricked her eyes, resigned to her fate.

That is, until in her mid descent towards the ground, the program's hand reached out to grab her shirt, sword poised to skewer her.

Red filled Tifa's vision as the hand unknowingly grazed her chest, and before she could even think properly of her situation, she screamed and her hand struck out, slapping the Sephiroth look-a-like cleanly on his cheek.

Storm stared at the luminescent eyes staring back at her in horrified disbelief.

Did she just… slap… it?..

"_Oh Shiva," _she inwardly gulped, _"I slapped it. I __**slapped **__it."_

And what a slap it was.

"3rd class SOLDIER Storm Lockhart has accomplished the objective. Battle ended five minutes before deadline. Congratulations, Mr. Lockhart." The drone like voice of the computer said.

Tifa found herself being slowly placed on the floor by the program, before it disappeared in a flash.

The girl stared at the spot in front of her, completely mortified at the turn of events.

The exit door slid open, revealing Zack, followed closely by Genesis and Sephiroth.

"Storm!!!" Zack grinned at her, looking a little less gobsmacked compared to how he was in the observation room. "You did it!"

Tifa opened her mouth to speak, her throat feeling exceptionally dry. "I… did…"

"Congratulations, Mr. Lockhart." Sephiroth's cool tone washed over her, making her feel increasingly embarrassed.

"You have very… fast reflexes." The smug looking red head informed her, his vivid blue eyes examining her.

Storm turned red, opening and closing her mouth a few times, not really knowing what to say to that observation.

"Your real training with me will begin tomorrow." The silver haired general informed her nonchalantly.

The red eyed teen nodded absently, still wearing an expression that clearly stated: 'is-this-really-happening-?'.

"I will not tolerate tardiness." He told her sharply, luminous green eyes boring into her distracted ones.

The girl— not that anyone in the room except her knew— nodded her head again, trying to pull her head out of the clouds. She barely paid attention to what was happening. Everything felt surreal for some reason.

There was a pause.

"Have your wounds treated." With that, her official teacher walked gracefully out of the room.

Genesis gave a small smirk, following his friend out of the room.

"Storm, are you okay?" Zack's bemused tone shook her out of her reverie.

"I really… passed?" she found herself asking, unable to banish the niggling disbelief. Nothing seemed to sink in at the time.

"You did." A very familiar, completely not Zack's voice, answered her.

Tifa let herself smile, her eyes closing before she turned towards the source.

Sapphire eyes stared at her, a bucket of guilt and embarrassment shining through them.

Zack watched the two best friends, realizing that he should leave the two alone to talk about whatever it was bothering them. "I'll see you guys later." He murmured softly, trying not to break the fragile balance in the atmosphere.

The moment Zack had left, Cloud broke the silence. "You did great." He said, a bit awkwardly.

"I slapped it." Tifa found herself saying, showing her embarrassment, as well as trying to get her best friend to smile.

Cloud grinned humorously. "You slapped it." He agreed, eyes twinkling.

Tifa smiled back, and at that moment she knew.

She had her best friend back.

XXXXXXXXXX

There! I apologize for the battle scene (or lack of?). I decided not to force it since it may ruin the whole thing. Anyway, Cloud and Tifa are back on speaking terms and she's passed the test (in a rather bizarre way, but what can we do? ^_^)! Anyway, please review!


End file.
